A Child with a Crush
by rachel-rage
Summary: Lorraine doesn't figure out Holly and Karen, but someone else does.


Karen's sitting on the beach with Lorraine when it happens. What she's been dreading since the moment she and Holy went to the art exhibition and her whole life changed.

"I really like Miss Shawcross," Lorraine says. She sounds decidedly neutral about it, just making conversation, but Karen's heartbeat picks up pace.

"Yeah," she says, looking down, away at the sea, trying to sound nonchalant. Just discussing a mutual teacher, something her schoolmates do every day. No big deal.

"Yeah, she's really cool. I mean, we get on, don't we? We get on with her." Lorraine says. Still no big deal, still just casual conversation. But inside, Karen is absolutely panicking.

"She's nice," she says, a bit of a muffle in her throat.

"I think you probably get on with her than I do, you know," she says. "Got a bit of a connection," Lorraine says with a smirk. For just one second, Karen nearly smiles, because in fact, they do have just a bit of a connection. Just a bit, though.

"She's cool," Karen says, and she thinks she's making it quite clear that she doesn't want to talk about it, doesn't want to talk about anything, just wants to look out on the sea and relax. But Lorraine presses on.

"She seems to like you too," Lorraine says. She looks over at Karen, with something secret in her eyes. Almost a longing, to share something not many people have. "There's nothing going on between you two, is there?"

At first, Karen wants to panic. She wants to say 'no' eighteen times, she wants to make out like Lorraine is absolutely insane for thinking anything of the sort. But Lorraine's not stupid, and neither is Karen, so she takes just one extra second to collect herself.

"What? No, what are you on about? That's so weird," Karen says, adequately portraying, she hopes, a girl, incredulous and disgusted. Lorraine seems satisfied, almost laughing to herself as she agrees.

"Yeah, so weird. Don't know why I thought that," she says. She's got a smile pasted on with just a hint of disappointment round her eyes.

Weeks go by, then a month, and then more. Karen and Holly get more serious with each passing day, but somehow, as they fall deeper in love, they get less cautious. It's really Karen's fault; after all the time she spent thinking about what could happen between them, it's hard for her to hide the bliss she feels around Holly. Holly tries, honestly she does, but when Karen's sitting there in class, looking at her from under her eyelashes with just a touch of a smirk on her face, her stomach just tightens up in all the right places and it's all she can do not to smile back.

On occasion, Karen will pretend to forget something in the classroom so she'll have to return for it. She'll shut the door behind her and saunter over to Holly's desk, a stupidly attractive smirk on her face, where she's already got whatever it was sitting there, waiting. They steal kisses before Karen has to run off to her next class. It's dangerous, so dangerous, but it's as if they can't help themselves.

They're less cautious outside of school as well. They had been quite covert at the beginning, limiting themselves to being together only in Holly's apartment, particularly since Lorraine had asked about it. After two months though, they spend time at the beach, they go to the shoppes together, they're brazenly public. They're deeply happy, but in their happiness they're far less concerned about being seen.

It should come as no surprise when Karen's dad catches them at it, but they're both shocked.

They're sat on the beach together, sitting on a blanket all tangled up and laughing, their joy etched plainly on their faces. It couldn't be clearer that they're together, really together. Neither of them, in their bliss, notice Karen's dad behind them, stalking up and grabbing Karen by her collar.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" he thunders, as he pulls her up off the blanket. "Who are you…" The blood drains from his face when Holly jumps to her feet and he sees her face.

"Miss Shawcross? Your… your teacher?" he whispers. He's still got her by the collar of her school sweater. He lets her go immediately, instead taking her by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "What on earth is going on here? Are you alright?"

Neither Holly nor Karen can say a word. They're looking from one another back to Karen's father, completely shocked into silence. He looks to the two of them, and suddenly, he seems to get it. Holly's face, downturned and bright red, and Karen, looking at him in a mix of defiance and shame. It clicks, suddenly, and his concern turns to outrage.

"You're screwing your bleeding teacher?" he screams at her.

He reaches down and grabs Karen's bag, not bothering to spare Holly a glance.

"Go get in the car, Karen," he says, and as she opens her mouth to protest, he slaps her hard, across the face. Holly jumps, shocked and scared. This man, she had met him before and never had she thought he was capable of this. Karen's got on hand to her cheek, her eyes smarting at the shock.

"Get in the _fucking_ _car_, Karen. Now!" Holly looks at her, clearly saying with her eyes, "_You don't have to go with him. I'll protect you," _but Karen shakes her head, and goes, eyes downcast, hand still to the red mark across her face.

Holly's left alone, as Adrian stalks off behind his daughter. She's got tears in her eyes as though she was the one he hit. She watches Karen walk off, helpless, and never having felt more alone.

When Karen and her father get home, after sitting silently in the cab, he turns on her immediately.

"How, how on earth did this happen?" he asks. His voice is calmer than before, but there's clearly an edge underneath it, a roughness that speaks to his only tenuous control.

"I love her, Dad. That's what's happened." Karen minces no words- now that she's been caught, there's no reason to keep lying. "I just love her."

He hits her again then. Square in the face, with all the force he has.

"Do you know how sick that is? You don't love her. You don't know what love is. You're a child with a crush. Now get out of my sight," he says, with hardly any fire left in him. He seems exhausted at the prospect of finishing this argument with her.

But Karen isn't quite through yet- she has not waited this long to be this happy only to have her father, her father who met a woman over the internet, who has no position to judge her, take it away.

"You can't tell me who I love, Dad! You don't know a thing about her, you judge us just because of the way we met!" Karen storms out of the room and into her bedroom, grabbing her bags as she goes. "I won't let you keep us apart, Dad. I don't care what I have to do."

Adrian stands there shell-shocked as Karen, studiously avoiding looking at him, packs her bags.

"Fine, you want to go? Go, then. It won't be easy. You'll be back." He turns away and walks out of the room, as Karen finishes packing her things.

She nearly breaks down, but keeps her composure as she stalks out the door.

Three hours later, there's a sharp rap at the door. Holly gets up from her sofa- she's been alternating between staring blankly at the wall, typing out texts to Karen to see if she's alright, and crying. She fears for herself, because she can't seem to picture life without Karen, but she fears for Karen more.

She jumps up to the door, hardly bothering to wipe the tear tracks from her face. She throws open the door, and there she is. Karen's standing there, bags at her feet and a shiner developing around her right eye. She's clearly been crying, sobbing more likely.

She looks terrified, as though she's afraid Holly will see her, with her black eye and her bags at her feet with nowhere left to go, and turn her away. Holly grabs her, immediately, and pulls her inside into her arms, just as Karen falls apart again.

She sobs out apologies, saying she's sorry over and over again, as Holly runs her fingers through her hair, rubs her back slowly and soft.

"It's okay," she says, over and over. "We'll be okay."


End file.
